


book (heart) worm

by siruru



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Books, Bookstores, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Feelings Realization, Post-Avengers (2012), Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers Has PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 03:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14662152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siruru/pseuds/siruru
Summary: In which Steve realizes something through all the decades of literature he has lost.





	book (heart) worm

**Author's Note:**

> This is for @redgillan‘s birthday challenge. this changed whole bunch of time when i was drafting it, but i really like the end result. i have an idea for a quick continuation, but idk. 
> 
> Prompt: Admiration 
> 
> Please enjoy and feedback is always welcomed.

It’s during those early morning runs when Steve takes a quick notice at something that usually doesn’t catch his attention. It might be the flower bed delicately placed in the front of the larger window or the outdated holiday lights above the door that lightly glow as the early morning sun gives them a faded light. He finds himself stopping for a moment to notice a shadow moving up and about. It takes him a few days to figure out that it’s a young woman moving across the shelves and putting books away, though he can never see her face within the large shadows of the store. He pauses longer and longer, trying to catch a glimpse. Then one day, he sees a small metal bookshelf with a note saying, “take a book, leave a book.” Blue eyes scan the books on display and one catches his attention, it’s familiar and he can remember all too well that Bucky complained about the ending, but they still went to the movie went it came out a year later, though it was a struggle to pay for the movie tickets at the time. **  
**

“ _Grapes of Wrath_ , huh?” he murmurs quietly to himself, as his steps are a bit more slower than before as he starts reading though unaware of someone watching quietly from inside the bookstore.

Steve Rogers tries his hardest to bring back a book the next week, though Tony doesn’t understand the need to bring back something or the audacity that Steve  has of needing to use a paperback edition when he could use his latest Stark Tech pad. The billionaire lets him take a copy of Ayn Rand’s  _Altus Shrugged_ , that used to belong to Howard, which he is more than happy to give away.

It takes him three weeks between missions to get through the Steinbeck book and he can’t help but feel that Bucky was right about the ending all those decades back. He chooses to put the book back when he’s done with it on a chilly Wednesday morning. As he makes his right turn during his morning run the next day, Steve sees a young woman putting some books on the shelf before heading back inside, he stops mid run when a title catches his eye once more. It’s a blue hardcover shining lightly in the sun -  _A Farewell to Arms_.

> **the old man and the sea - ernest hemingway.**

Steve comes back to the bookstore after a mission and rereading through the book twice because he can’t fall asleep, the adrenaline and nightmares (he pictures his mother too much in his dreams that night) are too raw and fresh for him to forget. He knows the young woman is there at odd hours, so when it hits 6 am he is already knocking at the door. Steve sees a shadow jump in the darkness and he hears a light yelp. As she scurries to the glass door, it’s finally then that Steve gets a good look at her - large glasses, large sweater accompanied by a dark blanket on top of it. Her eyes widen for a moment before she opens the door.

“I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am” she keeps the door closed as he starts talking, “...but, I was wondering if you had any more Hemingway books.”

She blinks for a moment trying to process the question and stifling a yawn, “Yeah, just wait a sec.”

She opens the door and Steve steps in, fully taking in the the decor of the little store. Five large shelves full of various books. There are more potted plants near the countertop that stand between a smaller bookshelf and an area that holds a couch, loveseat,  and small table. The sun is barely coming out and filters into the the sitting area. Blue eyes watched her disappear through the bookshelves, as he takes notice of the strong smell of coffee and old pages. Steve scans the whole area twice before taking a seat. She comes back a couple of minutes later with a stack of books and a cup of coffee. Steve quirks an eyebrow at this, as she gives him a small smile.

“Hemingway’s most popular books and a cup of joe,” She exclaims as Steve gets up for a moment and grabs both as she motions to the creamer and sugar on the table in case he wants any.

“Do you have any suggestions?” Steve asks, as he goes through the small stack of books. Some titles familiar to him and others not so much. It seemed that Hemingway had continued to write after Steve had sunk into the ocean.   

“ _Old Man and the Sea_ is my personal fav,” she declares and smiles a little wider at her little joke while glancing at Steve, as she takes her place on the loveseat next to him, grabbing a large book from the table.      

“Ya know, you could buy them online too,” she remarks without looking at him, though her remark makes Steve smile a little or maybe it’s because she welcomed him without a question or bothering on who he really was.

“I know,” Steve murmurs lightly, letting the peace of the store settle him in for a couple of hours of reading before it actually opened, “but I’m a bit old fashioned when it comes to a lot of things.”

> **the outsiders - s.e hinton**

Steve settles himself into a pattern of going to the little bookstore at the begin of one week and sees if he can finish the book within the month, though sometimes he ends up waking up at odd hours and waiting until 6 am when he knows that you are awake to head over with his book for coffee and sometimes breakfast. You never question who he is or what he wants, and he finds a little calm in that, though he often questions why you are up so early and the various other quirks you have that he has seen in the months he has been visiting. Though, it’s after movie night with the rest of the Avengers that you really start opening up.

“I was wondering if ya had  _The Outsiders_ ,” he questions as the lack of sleep pulls out his Brooklyn accents for a moment, as  he puts his latest book down. You quirk an eyebrow at his choice of book, but the twinkle in your eyes tells him you’re smiling. It was one of the things he caught early on and one that he enjoyed the most.

“Did you watch the movie recently?” you ask, as he nods. You swirl your chair around and take the book from the shelf behind you.

“Yeah, last night actually,” he explains as you hand him the red and beige book. He scans it for a bit, as you take a seat on the opposite side of the couch,”Tony said I had to watch such a classic. Have you seen it?”

“Still cry every time Dally dies,” you remark sadly before turning to him and smiling once more, “ but, I hope you enjoy it.”     

> **fear and loathing in las vegas - hunter s. thompson**

Steve wakes up with a jolt, not not quite sure of where he is but remembering that he was dreaming of Bucky, of the endless cold, of them heading to Las Vegas, of Peggy and a forgotten white fence. He gets up and slowly comes to realize that he had fallen asleep on the couch within the bookstore with a large blanket on top of him. The backdoor bell rings as he gets up in alarm before noticing it's you with two large bags of takeout.

“No more reading before bed for you, Sleeping Beauty,” you remark, as you place the food on top of the table, and while he appreciates the subtle concern in your eye. Steve feels a lot safer when you don’t ask anything, that you let him ease into his own thought process before anything else - he really does appreciate that about you.

“I’m sorry,” he gets up into a sitting position, noticing the closed sign brightly lit as you start taking out the containers, “You probably didn’t open today because of me.”

“Look Steve,” you pause and look straight into his blue ones, “Everyone needs a day off,  _even_  Captain America. So we’re gonna eat and read some good books, maybe even watch a movie, if ya liked. What do you say?”

“That would be nice, thank you,” he remarks with a soft smile, as you hand him a paper plate and start showing him what food you had brought for lunch.  

“But seriously, no more Thompson. Promise?”  

“Promise.”    

> **the alchemist - paulo coelho**

Steve starts coming in whenever he can after that, be it morning, afternoon, or evening time and there are rare occasions when he ends falling asleep there as well. It gives him the chance to see completely different sides to you whether you’re sweeping while dancing to a little tune, talking to customers and giving them suggestions, or simply taking in the day while reading through whatever you liked at the time. He found himself enjoying it more than he would like to admit.

“Ok, who is she?” Natasha asks suddenly as Steve looks up from his latest book, “I’ve been trying to set you up with someone for months, and you already found a date  _on your own_? I need to meet this woman.”

Steve shakes his head and denies having met anyone and deep down he begins to question whether he thought of you in that way. Yes, he admire your quite personality that always seem to have a comeback for everything he said, or could tease him in ways he only caught later on. He enjoyed early mornings watching you reread through those Greek tragedies you seemed so fond of, or making him dance when you’re supposed to be tidying up. Blue eyes widen, Natasha smirks at the sudden realization in his face that he quickly masks, but he knows the damage has been done, the Black Widow would be watching him very closely now.

As a result, Steve avoids the bookstore for nearly three weeks, blaming it on missions and being too tired within his own head, not to the potential that he might have fallen in love again. However, when he comes to accept that silently, he marches to the bookstore with everything he has, pausing for a moment to hear your laughter --something he isn’t used to-- as he sees you talking to a certain someone.

“Welcome back, Steve!” you exclaim before turning to Natasha, “You never told me you had such interesting friends. Nat really knows her classics.”

“Nat  _sure_  does,” is all he can say, as the redhead gives him a sly smirk before excusing herself out with a rare copy of a Russian title he can’t read. You look at him with bright eyes, clearly not angry or upset he has been gone for so long. 

“How have you been? Enjoy the book?” you remark happily and with the smile that blooms on your face, Steve knows that he’s done for.  

And like Santiago before him, Steve didn’t realize that the thing he was looking for was right in front of him all along.

**Author's Note:**

> catch me on the flip side: [writing tumblr](http://the-canary.tumblr.com/)


End file.
